Dear Prospective Families:

Welcome to Valwood School's web site. We're excited that you're here and hope that you will begin to appreciate the rich, diverse, and powerful opportunities that we have to offer students from pre-kindergarten through high school. Valwood offers all of its students a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum. We understand that high expectations are the hallmark of good education and strive each day to challenge all of our students to realize their intellectual and academic potential and to master the skills, discipline, and habits of mind they will need to succeed.

With an average student to teacher ration of 9:1, Valwood's small size guarantees that each child will be known well by the adults in the school-teachers, coaches, and school leaders alike. Such personal attention and daily contact with caring adults impact in powerful and lasting ways the life of a child. In each of our three divisions, each student is known by, looked after, and cared for by all of the adults in the building. As you will realize when you come to campus, Valwood is a warm, caring, and tightly-knit community bound by the shared commitment to provide nothing less than the very best education possible for our children and students.

Valwood offers as well a wide range of opportunities for students to grow and challenge themselves including competitive athletics at the middle and high school levels; academic teams such as debate, Odyssey of the Mind, mock trial, and Science Olympiad; fine arts instruction in drama, strings, vocal music, and the visual arts; and honor and service organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Rotary International's Interact Club, Boy Scouts, National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society, just to name a few.

As you will see as you browse these pages, visit campus, and meet the faculty, staff, and students here, Valwood has a great deal to offer your child. I look forward to meeting you and to showing you first hand the incredible opportunities that lie ahead.

Yours truly,

Cobb Atkinson
Headmaster